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THE MEDIA AFRICA ANNUAL_digital

16 WEST Africa
Going digital
Tolu Onile-Ere, MD at Lagosbased
digital agency Playhouse
Communication, explains that in
terms of countries with the highest
number of internet users, Nigeria
is now seventh with over 92 million
internet users – and that’s only 50%
penetration of the potential market.
He says while Nigeria has its
challenges – such as the economic
downturn, he believes the future
could be bright. “The future for
digital is promising. We have a
young population and their access
to media/info is predominantly via
digital means/platforms.
However, there are undoubtedly
infrastructure challenges to be
addressed. We need to sort out
electricity, make access to the
internet cheaper and more reliable
and to develop professionals with
digital skills,” he asserts.
Another challenge is
accountability. “There are still
accountability issues with traditional
media but marketers/companies are
demanding more and expecting
more, especially multinationals.
Digital also runs the risk of falling
foul of accountability issues but
hopefully as the market matures,
clients will get better at knowing
what to expect from digital and
the agencies and publishers will get
better at measuring the data,” says
Onile-Ere.
Kimanzi says there’s been a lot
of movement in the technology
sphere with the rollout of 4G
networks as well as cable providers
such as Main One and Glo, who,
he says, have acted as enablers to
drive more internet based adoption
and usage.
“Taking selfies and posting
them online as well as using
Instagram and Twitter feeds to drive
entrepreneurship is growing. New
stations continue coming up and
some of the pay TV providers have
reduced their prices to reflect the
current economic reality.
Digital migration is meant to start
in 2017 in line with the IOU mandate
with a test pilot phase currently
ongoing in Jos (Northern Nigeria)
with a larger roll out anticipated
early next year. This will not only
increase the offers available
but drive more choice among
audiences who are becoming more
and more fragmented,” he explains.
Advertising taking a knock
Economic realities mean advertising
is struggling. “This year will be tough
for advertising with inflation at 15%+,
a declining Naira and stringent fiscal
policies that have made movement
of money a challenge.
THEMEDIA AFRICA ANNUAL 2016